Computer modeling of optical shadow-casting processor

Computing employing optical signal presupposes information being encoded op tically. Many digital optical computing system employs pixel patterns to re present different logic level. Cellular logic, symbolic substitution, morph ological and image processing could be performed on such pattern-coded info rmation. Such systems have generally been analyzed by geometric optics. In this work, we propose to model such computing systems using laws of electro magnetic propagation. Results predicted by both geometric optics and the co mputer model are provided for a pattern-coded full adder/subtracter impleme ntation. The model is general enough to be extended to other systems with m ore complicated coding pattern and could serve as design tool for optimizin g a computing system using pattern-coded logic. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.